The Board of Directors of Steel Authority of India (SAIL), one of the largest state-owned steel making company in India, have approved the proposal for signing of a Term Sheet with Arcelor Mittal, one of the leading steel and mining company, for the area of Automotive Steel Business.

According to the government data as of March, 2017, India has a crude capacity of 128.28 million tonnes for steel production.

The proposed JV will construct a state-of-the-art cold rolling mill with a capacity of about 1.5 mtpa and other downstream finishing facilities in India, that will offer technologically advanced steel products for automotive sector. The aim of the JV is to bring down imports for high-grade steel that will see a rise in demand as the Indian automobile industry gears up for the next-phase of growth.

The information was given by the Minister of State for Steel, Vishnu Deo Sai, in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today.

According to industry sources, the JV is expected to see a $1 billion (Rs 6,317 crore) being contributed between the partners in three years.